Computex 2014: Ford shows off V2V communication technology
In addition to the Asia-Pacific expansion of AppLink, Ford yesterday announced that its experimental vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications technology would be on display in downtown Taipei. And TechRadar had the chance to see it in action.
Sitting in the back of one of two specially-equipped Kugas, Ford showed us how the technology can be used to prevent collisions.
Using a Wi-Fi based radio system the cars are able to communicate with one another and alert their drivers to potential dangers they can't yet see.
Hide and SYNC
The technology can detect speed, position and other vehicle data relating to cars that are hidden from the driver's view and determine if there's a risk of a collision along the car's predicted path.V2V is still in development, but the demonstration we saw showed the system detect the other Kuga before anyone in the car could see it and alert the driver via an alarm and a flashing red light on the dash's screen.
V2V also builds on existing radar technology that warns of cars in your blind spot by detecting fast-moving vehicles before they present a danger.
Perhaps the days of attempting to merge and being abused by an inconsiderate revhead will soon be behind us.
- Interested in cars, eh? Why not check out our hands on with Apple's CarPlay?
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Hands-on review: Dell Inspiron 20 3000
Ah, the family computer, the Holy Grail for homework, media and browsing the web. It's a tradition, and one that Dell will help re-define with its upcoming entry-level Inspiron 20 all-in-one desktop.
That 20, as you can imagine, comes from its 1-inch thin, 19.5-inch HD+ display that comes in touchscreen and non-touchscreen flavors. The display sits on a kickstand, allowing it to go from lying flat on the table to a 45-degree tilt for desktop work and is perfect for basic productivity needs.
The idea behind the AIO is simple: make a cost-effective system for families that's adaptable enough for school work for the kids, web browsing for the adults, and media streaming for family time.
It's meant to stay inside the home, though, due to its lack of rechargeable battery. It's not too bulky to lug from room to room with you, but, unfortunately, requires the 65W AC adapter everywhere it goes.
What's good for the goose
It's been said before, but it bears repeating: The Inspiron 20 3000 series will really excel as a basic computer.When it hits store shelves, you'll be able to choose between either a Celeron N2830 dual core or Intel Pentium N3530 quad-core Bay Trail processor, and 2 or 4GB of DDR3, 1600MHz system memory.
It'll sport Windows 8.1, a 500GB, 5400rpm hard drive, and also has a front-facing 720p HD camera, a 4:1 media card reader (SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC) and three USB 3.0 ports on the rear of the panel. But this is all par for the course for an all-in-one.
The touchscreen model weighs in at a slightly hefty 8 pounds, while the non-touchscreen version weighs a bit closer to 7 pounds. Considering the device is 19 x 12 x 1 (W x H x D), Dell did a good job maximizing screen space while keeping overall weight down. I liked that it's not too big for room-to-room transportation.
The price is right
What Dell really needs with its upcoming desktop-turned-tablet, though, is a competitive price stamp. And thankfully, in this respect, Dell really delivered.The 3000 series will start at $350 (about £209, AU$378) for the non-touchscreen model and jumps up to a reasonable $450 (about £268, AU$486) for one with a responsive display.
For $450 it would've been nice to include an optical drive for those of us still using rewritable media, but I suppose this is made up for by the inclusion of an 802.11n/Bluetooth 4.0 wireless combo card and HDMI In port.
As is typical with most AIO setups, Dell will include a standard mouse and keyboard with both models of the 3000 series.
Early verdict
By including Waves MaxxAudio into its plans, Dell has set the stage for a solid sounding device. This, coupled with the touchscreen technology, should make for a decent second computer in most homes. It's likely not a good pick for a primary setup – as the hardware is slightly on the weaker side – but for parents looking for an entry-level computer for kids, the 3000 series may be the answer.Portable power fanatics looking for an offering from Dell may want to consider the Inspiron 11 3000 series of notebooks that offer plenty of oomf for its $449 (about £268, AU$483) barrier to entry.
An Intel i3 would've been a better pick for the imminent multi-threading that will happen, but doing so would've compromised the price. It's the battle of price point versus power that may haunt the Inspiron 20 if it panders too much to the price-conscious consumers. Without significant testing, however, it's a tough call whether this one will be worth your money when it hits homes later this year.
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Analysis: Apple wants the iPhone to be the only phone you'll ever need
It seems a bit obvious to say that the Worldwide Developers Conference should be primarily about developers, but today Apple gave the thousands of expectant attendees more than they bargained for.
The theme at WWDC might have seemed fragmented as it unfolded - lots of different new services on offer, and many different paths being walked down - but when you step back and put it all together you realize: Apple wants your iPhone to be the absolute center of your home and family life.
Imagine Apple's ideal house next year: a home that's got digital locks, garage doors and thermostat all connected into the iOS system using HomeKit.
An iPhone 6 for either parent with the TouchID sensor that's now been opened up to a range of new applications. Kids with their iPads, iPods and iPhones all linked to one central Family Share account.
Suddenly you've got not just one, but six people locked into the Apple ecosystem. Want to get into your house? Better have an iPhone, or you're going to be throwing a Galaxy phone through the window to break in.
Fewer broken pieces
Of course, the trick here is getting enough people to fork out the cash needed to create this kind of house, and it's not going to be cheap.Apple doesn't quite have the market share it needs to achieve this kind of dominance easily (although it's not far off) which helps explain why Tim Cook was so keen to play up the fragmented nature of Apple's competitors.
He highlighted how many more users had upgraded to the new version of iOS or OS X, with 40 million upgrades to Mavericks and 90% of iOS users on the new version of the platform.
In comparison, Microsoft has only 14% of users on Windows 8, and Android 9% on KitKat. It's telling that numbers weren't involved in the presentation - it's reported that 200 million copies of Windows 8 have been sold already, so Apple was really highlighting the potential Microsoft needs to exploit.
Perhaps it's a different story with Android, and that's why Google is working so hard to unify the variety of operators using its platform.
You'll see 'Powered by Android' on start up screens for new devices from now on, and if Android Silver comes to pass, we'll have a range of high-end phones which will be as next-gen ready as Apple's iPhone range is.
But Apple did have one little extra treat that might help its cause in persuading whole families to switch to its new integrated home vision, and it came towards the end of the conference.
The biggest cheer of the keynote was reserved for the announcement of Swift, Apple's own programming language, to make it easier and quicker to create high-quality apps for its platform.
This means fewer mistakes, more creativity and a greater number of developers sticking around who might have been swayed by the larger number of Android devices to cater for.
And the addition of Metal, Apple's new layer between games and iPhone/iPad hardware that will allow near-console quality gaming on these portable devices, also got a massive whoop as it was announced - developers were genuinely enthusiastic about having these new tools to play with.
A couple of guys behind me were seemingly dazed by what they'd seen, claiming this was a big (and useful) to the process … admittedly, they were in a room full of Apple fans, but there was a sense that Cook's team had created something that would again push mobile device performance forward.
The Apple home of the future might not be something that appears in many houses for the foreseeable future, as it will require a lot of investment in a new ecosystem.
But if you're a developer, suddenly the locked-down iOS system seems wide open: cameras, TouchID, gaming, health and keyboards have suddenly become fair game, and in doing so Apple has done enough to mirror the popular features of Android and gives it a great platform to launch the iPhone 6 on.
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Opinion: What iOS 8 might reveal about the iPhone 6
Apple announced iOS 8 today at WWDC 2014, but as we expected, no real hints about the iPhone 6. With better notification handling, widgets in the notification center, enhanced photo editing, third-party keyboards and more, was there anything about iOS 8 that hints at what the iPhone 6 might look or feel like?
No.
We were hoping that something about iOS 8 would give us clues about the iPhone 6 - maybe something that hints at a better camera or bigger display. Anything to satiate our curiosity and borderline unhealthy obsession with iPhone 6 rumors.
Unfortunately, we have nothing except all the cool features iOS 8 will have. Maybe we're not so unfortunate after all.
If we were to take a step into fantasy land, which is what we always do when we entertain rumors, we can probably anticipate an improved camera in the iPhone 6. Perhaps somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-10 megapixels for more detailed photos. A better imaging sensor and optics would help tremendously, and would go hand-in-hand nicely with Apple's big leap forward with its Photos app.
After all, image editing in Photos has been drastically improved, and more photos are accessible through the cloud now than before - all with your iPhone or iPad.
Another feature on iOS 8 that we know we'll love is the option to install third-party keyboard. Swype is my favorite keyboard on Android, and I have been dying to have it ported over to iOS. This is great. This might also mean that the iPhone 6 could have a bigger display. After all, more keyboard options, especially ones like Swype or Swiftkey, help a lot when your phone's display is bigger.
For entertainment's sake, we can also say that the display will get larger and retain very high resolution thanks to the upgrade in speed and graphical power. Otherwise, these upgrades would've made little sense for the current displays.
Lastly, as apps get bigger and we take more photos and videos than ever, we could see a larger-capacity iPhone. Perhaps it's not hard to imagine a 128GB iPhone, and I know many of us would love that. After all, the cost of memory gets cheaper every year, and if the iPad can have it, why not the iPhone?
Otherwise, everything iOS 8 offers is going to work well with iPad models and the iPhone. For that reason, it's hard to pinpoint anything that could lead to obvious features on the iPhone 6. Besides, Apple is smarter than that, and it's not going to give anything away.
But as leaks have gotten better over time, the iPhone 6 might look like the leaked photos we've already seen. The iPhone 5, for example, was hardly a surprised when it was announced. It's a little bigger, it looks like it might be slimmer, and the edges have gotten their curves back.
What's more important than anticipating what the iPhone 6 will look like is what I jokingly called the "Androidification of the iPhone." I never thought I'd see widgets on iOS, and now here they are right in the notification center. The news of third-party keyboards was a pleasant surprise, too. Additionally, Siri will behave a little like Google Now, and that's a good thing.
Moreover, interactive notifications make handling things like text message more like what other manufacturers are doing on Android. The ability to interact and respond to notifications immediately is great because you don't have to leave an app to handle them.
What's more important is the trend and direction of smartphone OSes. Windows Phone 8.1 took on a pull-down notification system like Android and iOS, and iOS is now taking some cues from Android, too. Eventually, there will be fewer big distinctions from OS to OS. They'll still look different, and behave a little differently, but the experience between them all will share big similarities.
Perhaps that's good news since it means the overall user experience will only get better. I think that's more important than wondering what shape the iPhone 6 will take and whether it will look prettier than the last version. Allow me to spoil that for you: it probably will, and it'll be marginally better than the iPhone 5S in most ways. There.
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Updated: iOS 8 release date, news and features
iOS 8 release date, news and rumors
Apple spent a significant amount of its WWDC 2014 keynote focusing on iOS 8, which takes the flat iOS 7 design and only rounds it out with new features.That means instead of a dramatic redesign, you can expect this year's mobile operating system update to tie everything together with the overarching theme of "convergence."
iOS 8 will feature tighter Mac integration while loosening the restrictions on Apple's Touch ID fingerprint sensor. New software kits are also bringing once fragmented security and health gadgets together.
While there was no mention of an iPhone 6 or an iWatch at this year's WWDC, Apple seems to be setting the stage for new products by the time iOS 8 is ready for public release.
Release date
Developers can get their hands on iOS 8 right now, but everyone else has to wait a few months for the official release date, which could be a little over three months from now.History has taught us that iOS updates exit beta as soon as the new iPhone is ready to launch, and and has happened in September in years past.
Apple is making quite a few changes in its upgrade to iOS 8, but there's no reason to think that it won't be joined by the iPhone 6 and "new product categories" like an iWatch this fall.
Cut to the chase
What is it? The next iteration of Apple's mobile platform
When is it out? Probably sometime in September 2014
What will it cost? iOS 8 will be a free download
What is it? The next iteration of Apple's mobile platform
When is it out? Probably sometime in September 2014
What will it cost? iOS 8 will be a free download
Compatibility
When it comes to iOS 8 compatibility, Apple is sticking to the update scheme of requiring the iPhone 4S and above and iPad 2 and above.All iPads minis and the forever alone iPod touch 5th generation are also going to work with the new iOS, just like they did with iOS 7. No changes here, and no one new is left behind.
That's likely because this particular set of iDevices uses Bluetooth 4.0, a low-energy version of the antenna that several wearables require for constant syncing.
It's powerful enough to handle hardware, and clearly durable enough to take on Apple's tweaked software.
Touch ID for all
Up until now, Apple's fingerprint scanner has been limited to the lockscreen and iTunes Store, but iOS 8 changes all of that as app developers get access to the five-digit login tool.All sorts of apps will be able to use the biometric scanning home button to securely log in users without the need for pesky passcodes.
Case in point, banking software Mint.com was demoed at today's WWDC as one way in which Touch ID will expand beyond its lockscreen and iTunes Store confines.
Imagine, "Forget password" may become a thing of the past as the pores in your fingertips act as a much more unique method of protecting your most valuable data.
Of course, Apple went out of its way to say that app developers won't have access to your biometric information, even though you already trust many of them with your bank account data.
SMS and phone calls on Mac
iMessages has been a wonderful cross-compatible tool for chatting on iOS devices and Macs - at least until you try to leave your iPhone behind for an Android.Apple deserters, however, may be lured back to iOS 8 with SMS and voice calls being folded into Macs, just like blue iMessages currently pop up on Mac computers.
It's a pain to have to fetch your phone for a single SMS from an Android users, especially when you're sitting in front of a 13-inch MacBook Air screen that's fully capable of handling text messages and phone calls.
Group messages has also been enhanced in iOS 8 thanks to the ability to add and drop people from conversations, silence specific incoming group messages with Do Not Disturb and share your location like Apple's underused Find My Friends standalone app.
SMS messages are no longer limited to iOS devices packing SIM cards: if an SMS is sent to you, you'll be able to see it and reply to it on your iPad too (and on your Mac).
Of course, this also requires upgrading your Mac to the newly announced OS X Yosemite, but that's a piece of cake since it'll be free and arrive around the same time as iOS 8.
Handoff and WiFi hotspot
iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite are going to be joined at the hip with the Handoff feature that lets you pick up where they left off between devices.Starting a project or email on an iPad or iPhone will let you finish the task on a Mac with no annoying overlap. There's no need to reopen windows or rewrite text on the computer. And it works going the other way too.
What if you don't have access to the the internet on your computer or iPad to get the job done? That's where the Instant HotSpot feature will come into play, easing the messy personal hotspot setup of iOS 7.
Group messages with voice and video
Group messages is also being enhanced for iOS 8 thanks to features like adding and dropping people from conversations and silencing specific incoming group messages with Do Not Disturb.Sharing your location for a set period of time is also going to be a part of iMessages, essentially forking over the concept from Apple's underused Friend My Friends app.
Location sharing, when it was part of the standalone app, was great for meeting up in a crowded location like a baseball stadium or concert, and now it'll get more use within iMessages.
Multimedia within iOS 8's iMessages app should be more useful too. Inline voice and video messages with Snapchat-like clips that self-destruct are coming to the mobile OS update.
Interactive notifications
For the times when you do actually respond to texts and calendar reminders on your phone instead of a Mac computer, iOS 8 adds convenient interactive notifications.Like OS X Mavericks, these notifications can be dealt with in a few simple taps thanks to inline responses. There's no need to mess with the lock screen in order to take action right away.
iOS notifications have come a long way from taking up the entire middle of our phone screen, and iOS 8 makes them feel like less of a nuisance once again.
Keyboard and extensions
Apple claims its iOS 8 keyboard is its "smartest keyboard ever," and there's no reason to doubt that since it adds long-awaited predictive texting that's akin to SwiftKey and Swype.The candidate row appears above the keyboard with three word-finishing and next-word suggestions. They even vary depending on the app that's open to match your tone for each, from messages to email.
If someone asks you a question, it'll automatically offer choices like "Yes" and "No" and, optionally, learn your contacts to spell everyone's name correctly.
Better yet, Apple won't limited iOS users to the pre-installed keyboard. Extensions finally bring Swype to and open up iOS 8 to new third-party sharing options, photo editing tools, custom actions and notification center widgets.
There's always a lot of potential when an platform as large and Apple's opens up its ecosystem to outside developers. It may be long overdue, but it'll finally be here with iOS 8.
iCloud may be useful
Prior to today's, there was very little reason to use the ridiculously small 5GB of free space Apple included with iCloud. It was always easier to use a more capable and less expensive Dropbox account.That all changes when iOS 8 launches alongside iCloud Drive, Apple's rival to Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, Microsoft OneDrive and the dozens of other file sharing websites that have sprung up in recent years.
It still costs money over the 5GB limit, but at least files can be stored and synced. This includes documents, presentations, spreadsheets, PDFs and images.
What's really cool about the forthcoming iCloud-enabled iOS Photos app is that every picture and every edit is saved across all of your Apple devices automatically. Better yet, there are new tools and filters in iOS 8.
Health app
Apple didn't announce an iWatch-tied Healthbook app at WWDC, but it did unveil a plainly named Health app and developer-focused HealthKit API.It's intended to bring together all of the fragmented health and fitness services out into one secure location, whether the fitness gadget deals with your heart rate, calories burned, blood sugar and cholesterol.
There's also an an emergency card can also be accessible from the lock screen, just in case.
Nike and the MayoClinic have been announced to be on board with HealthKit in order to deposit health stats into the centralized Health app, and Withings' Blood Pressure Monitor was a part of Apple's presentation.
The more that existing products like Fitbit Force and Jawbone Up24 join this initiative the more useful it will become to iOS 8 users looking for a health equivalent to Apple's coupon and tick stub-collecting Passbook.
HomeKit
Apple also plans to tie together smart home electronics with its HomeKit framework for connected devices so that you can sit on the couch and control everything from there.Locking doors, turning off lights and shutting the garage door won't even require tapping your iPhone 5S touchscreen, it turns out.
Instead, these actions can be triggered with Siri voice commands as simple as saying "Siri, I'm going to bed" in order for the computerized assistant to put you into something of a "safe mode."
Siri and Spotlight updates
Siri does more than look after the house and save you on your electricity bill. Apple's voice assistant is going to start responding to "Hey Siri" in iOS 8.This safer, hands-free way of calling up Siri is joined by the service's ability to identify songs using Shazam's recognition software, purchase iTunes content and recognize up to 22 languages
Siri is also going to become a better listener with iOS 8 thanks to streaming voice recognition. Now the wavy lines and words that appear on screen will match what you're saying in near-real-time.
When voice search isn't feasible in a loud environment, you can turn to the more reliable iOS 8 Spotlight. Like its OS X Yosemite counterpart, it searches Wikipedia, the news, nearby places, the App Store and more.
Find things, whether it's via Siri or Spotlight, shouldn't be a problem in iOS 8, as Apple is finally taking on Google's handy voice search.
What wasn't there
There's a lot going on with iOS 8, but some of the changes Apple failed to implement include a split-screen that Samsung has been offering on its Android tablets and larger phones.Apps for photo previews and a text edit application, also previously rumored for WWDC 2014, didn't make an appearance either, and the status of Game Center is still alive and well. Apple hasn't killed it off just yet.
As the iOS 8 beta begins to update with new features every month, there are bound to be more surprises leading up to the official release date, likely in September.
Coupled with iPhone 6 and an iWatch, it should be enough to keep Apple users from defecting to Android, unless of course Google IO 2014 is a showstopper on June 25.
iOS 8: 10 things we want to see
So we're starting to get an idea of some of the major changes in store for iOS 8, still, there are many other things we'd like to see Apple change by the time iOS 8 rolls around later in 2014 - although in some cases we've got a sneaking suspicion Apple would disagree.1. Change and hide default iOS apps
We'd love to be able to choose non-Apple alternatives for handling email, browsing and maps, but doubt it'll happen. However, Apple not providing the means to hide preinstalled apps you don't use is an irritant that goes back to the very first iPhone.Even if there was a similar 'parental controls' trick for hiding apps to the one on the Apple TV, that'd be good enough.
2. A guest/child account
Apple's mantra is everyone should own their own device. That's lovely, but not everyone's pockets are as deep as those of Apple board members.OS X-style user accounts are unlikely, but it can't be beyond Apple to provide a single-tap child account or a guest account that doesn't affect your settings and data, and doesn't retain settings or data of its own.
3. Better iOS app management
As of iOS 7, Apple automates app updates, but it should go further. Devs wrestle with iCloud app data, but this should be child's play to save and also (optionally) restore whenever you reinstall an app.And the App Store itself should offer trials and paid version updates (rather than devs being forced to use IAP or 'replacement' apps as a workaround).
4. Stronger inter-app communications
One of the weakest elements of iOS is inter-app communication. If a service bumps you to another app, you're not always returned when you've finished performing an action.Worse, when making document edits across several apps workflow can be a nightmare with document copies in various states strewn throughout individual app sandboxes. Hopefully this is set to improve if the new API for data-sharing makes it into iOS 8.
5. Better document management
Following on from the previous point, iOS should introduce at least some kind of centralised access to documents. Right now, Dropbox is a surrogate file system because iCloud is a bunch of silos.It's absurd that you can't easily attach documents within Mail in an OS that boasts a version number of 7. The lack of collaboration opportunities within iCloud document workflow is also disappointing.
6. Group FaceTime calls
This isn't specifically tied to iOS, but Apple's mobile platform is where FaceTime began life, and although the one-to-one model is great, it's about time you could call several people at once, rather than a group having to crowd around an iPhone.7. iOS notifications like in OS X Mavericks
In OS X Mavericks, notifications are interactive - get a message and you can deal with it there and then, rather than leaving the app you're in. This is even more important on iOS, and so we hope Apple adds similar functionality on mobile. Google does it with aplomb, so we want to see the same here.8. More Do Not Disturb options
Do Not Disturb gained extra power in iOS 7, enabling you to silence notifications only when a device is locked. Bizarrely, it still retains only a single schedule though. Is it beyond Apple to enable you to at least set one for weekdays and a separate one for weekends?
9. Better text manipulation
Apple's text-selection, cut, copy and paste seemed elegant when it was introduced, but only compared to disastrous equivalents on competing mobile systems.Today, it comes across as awkward, and it's a barrier to usability for far too many people. We'd like to see a rethink from Apple and more usable and intuitive ways of dealing with text.
10. Two-up apps
We love the focus iOS provides, but there are times when we'd like to work with two apps at once. Much like messing with default apps, we doubt Apple will ever go down this path, but OS X Mavericks now has a more powerful full-screen mode for multiple monitors.So there's perhaps the slightest hope a multi-screen mode might one day arrive for the iPad or a larger iPhone, and would be one in the eye for all those Samsung owners out there.
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Touch ID to leave its thumbprint on third-party apps as Extensibility sprouts
Since inception, Apple's Touch ID fingerprint sensor has only been used to unlock the iPhone 5S and make App Store purchases.
Now at the Apple's WWDC keynote, the Cupertino company announced it will open up its fingerprint scanning technology to all third-party app developers with iOS 8.
To demonstrate Touch ID's expanded capabilities, Apple's Craig Federighi rolled a demo using Mint, logging in with a press of the finger rather than inputting the password on the touchscreen keyboard.
Addressing privacy, Federighi said all fingerprint data would remain stored and completely protected inside the iPhone's A7 processor.
"The fingerprint information is never exposed to third-party apps or the entire system for that matter," Federighi said. "It's very secure."
Extensibility
On the same stage, CEO Tim Cook announced Apple is refreshing the iOS 8 software development kit with the "biggest release since the launch of the App store" itself.
It's most profound change of all? The third party apps will be able to interact with one another in what Apple calls "Extensibility."
Applications from the app store thus far have only worked independently from one another. But now thanks to Extensibility they can extend and offer services to other apps.
Using a few examples Federighi highlighted how Safari could now bring up a Pintrest share sheet or access Microsoft's Bing translation service without needing to leave the browser. Apple's built-in Photos app, meanwhile, could extend its editing options to include filters from apps such as VSCO cam and the watercolor painting Waterlogue app.
Beyond inter-app functionality, third-party apps will have widgets that populate more information and features into users' Notification Center. In the near future, iPhone owners will be able to see sporting event scores from Sports Center right next their standard weather and stocks widgets.
- For even more about iOS 8, here are the top 12 features you should know about
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No Windows 8.1 Start menu this year - check back in 2015
If you've been kept up restless nights waiting for the return of something resembling the classic Start menu for the modern version of Windows, we're sorry to dampen your spirits even further.
ZDNet has word Microsoft may not introduce a more functional Start menu with the forthcoming Windows 8.1 Update 2, which is widely expected to arrive in August or September.
According to reliable insider sources close to Redmond, the team charting a course for the future of Windows decided to hold off in favor of resurrecting the Start menu in the next major version of the operating system.
Codenamed "Threshold," that big update is expected to see an April 2015 release and is commonly being referred to as Windows 9, although Microsoft apparently has yet to firmly commit to that name.
Same as it ever was?
The Microsoft insiders were unclear as to the reason for the delay, though it may be because the revamped Start menu simply isn't ready for primetime or some other internal rationale.Either way, the longtime Windows faithful may wind up being disappointed when the feature does arrive, given that it apparently won't be a faithful copy of what Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 users were accustomed to.
Microsoft guru Mary Jo Foley describes the Windows 8.1 Start menu as offering "some familiarity," but claims it will also "integrate Windows 8's Metro-style Start screen concept" in some as-yet-unknown way.
Microsoft Executive Vice President Terry Myerson showed off an early version of the new and improved Start menu during the company's Build developer conference in April, where he announced it would arrive as part of "next iteration" of Windows 8.
- Speaking of Microsoft, check out our full review of the Xbox One!
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Early view: 12 top iOS 8 features you need to know about
12 top iOS 8 features: 1-6
Tim Cook says that iOS 8 is "a giant release", and he isn't kidding: from the way your iOS device handles photos to the way you handle your everyday messages and calls, iOS 8 looks like it's going to be a big upgrade.Some of the changes are relatively small - we doubt the prospect of seeing your recent and favourite contacts in the multitasking screen or seeing the iPhone's tab view on Safari will massively change your life - but others are a lot more exciting.
Here are the features you'll care about.
Interactive Notifications
You're in the middle of something and a notification pops up. Instead of forcing you to leave the app you're in, iOS 8 enables you to process notifications without exiting the app.You don't even need to unlock your device. Instead, a quick swipe displays your options: accept and decline for calendar notifications, a text entry field for SMS messages and so on.
More Spotlight results
Spotlight search is taking on a more Siri-like flavour: in addition to the contents of your phone it can look for points of interest, app store results, iTunes songs (both in your library and in the wider iTunes catalogue), cinema listings and anything else you might conceivably be looking for.Messages, Group Messages and Self-destructing messages
SMS messages are no longer limited to iOS devices packing SIM cards: if an SMS is sent to you, you'll be able to see it and reply to it on your iPad too (and on your Mac).Group messages have been given a major update too. You can add people to and remove them from active conversations, share locations, see any images and attachments shared in the thread and best of all, turn on Do Not Disturb on a per-conversation basis if things are getting too chatty.
One of the most interesting new features is inline voice and video messaging, which enable you to send a quick voice or video clip that self-destructs at a time you choose.
Smarter Siri
Siri gets its own version of "OK Google": "Hey, Siri" invokes Siri whenever you're within earshot. It boasts Shazam song recognition and the voice recognition engine now streams, so you can see the recognition as it goes along rather than wait until you've finished speaking. Siri gets 22 new dictation languages too.Family Sharing
If you've ever set up an iOS device for the kids you'll know how much of a pain it can be when you want to share a single iTunes account with the whole family.No more. Family Sharing enables you to share your purchased content and shared media with up to six family members, and in a nice touch you can be asked permission when the kids attempt to spend half your wages on in-game Smurfberries.
And while we're on the subject of sharing, AirDrop now works between iOS devices and Macs.
The Health app
It's not called Healthbook any more and there's still no sign of the iWatch, but the rumoured health application is pretty much what we expected: it's a way for various third party devices, from Fuelbands to dedicated hospital apps, to share health data with your iOS device.Apple promises that it will carefully protect your privacy, so apps will only be able to access health data you give them explicit permission to use. Here's hoping this one attracts more third-party support than Passbook did.
12 top iOS 8 features: 7-12
iCloud Drive
iCloud gets new storage options - 5GB free, 20GB for 99c per month and 200GB for $3.99 per month - and new, simpler photo editing tools, and it also gets what looks rather like a Dropbox-style file system that enables you to share data between apps.Edits are saved back to iCloud drive so they're available on your Mac, other iOS devices or Windows PC.
Continuity
If this is as good as it looks, it's going to be amazing. With Continuity, your iOS devices and Macs know where they are and what you're doing, and you can hand over from one to another - so you can start writing an email on your iPhone and finish it on your Mac, or view a web page you've been looking at on Mac Safari and see it on your iPad.In a really nice touch you can use your Mac as a speakerphone for your iPhone, even if your iPhone is in a different room charging.
Predictive typing
We've seen predictive typing on other platforms, of course, but Apple's version is context aware - so if you're replying to a message suggesting dinner or a movie, your typing suggestions will include "dinner" and "movie", and if you're replying to a tedious work message the available suggestions will use tedious work terms. iOS 8 will also, at last, support third party keyboards.More efficient Mail
iOS Mail gets a few new gestures that make processing mail easier: you can swipe to mark messages as unread, swipe a bit more to flag them or swipe further still to delete them.There's also an interesting solution to the problem of multitasking in Mail: if you want to refer to other messages while you're composing mail you can swipe the message down, browse your email to read or copy, and swipe it back up when you're ready to continue.
That'll make complex replies on iOS much more convenient.
Smarter home apps
The new HomeKit API is designed to make iOS the hub for all kinds of smart home equipment. Instead of multiple apps doing their own thing, Apple has created a platform for locks, lights, cameras, doors, thermostats, plugs and switches that groups devices together and controls them via Siri - so telling Siri "ready for bed" would turn off the lights and heating, arm the alarm and kill the TV.If HomeKit is widely supported it could turn out to be a very big deal.
Metal
The new Metal graphics system delivers console-quality gaming on iOS devices, and the demos were genuinely jaw-dropping. Metal is iOS-only, which could mean developers writing more iOS-exclusive titles and not porting them to other platforms.
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WWDC 2014: iOS App Store treated to app bundles, better search and apps you can test
Apple's WWDC 2014 was filled with big announcements like iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 Yosemite, but nestled among them was the impending introduction of some improvements to the App Store.
Apple CEO Tim Cook described the new features on stage during the opening hours of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference.
The most interesting changes coming to the App Store are new tools for developers: app bundles, videos in app listings, and the integration of TestFlight.
There are some minor improvements to searches coming, as well, including some new tools for users.
Tools for developers
With app bundles, app makers can now bundle their apps together and sell them at a discounted price, allowing users to purchase multiple apps at once with just a few taps.Devs will also be able to embed short videos in App Store listings to show off apps' features - much like in Android's Google Play store, where developers can embed YouTube videos.
And the official integration of TestFlight into iOS will likely make it easier for developers to let users test early, in-progress versions of their apps before they're released.
Searching for improvements
Cook also showed off some improvements coming to App Store searches.iOS users will soon have access to a new "explore" tab where they can browse through categories and sub-categories, with the aim of making it easier to discover the right apps.
Users will also be able to view trending searches to see what's popular, and searching will be faster, especially with new continuously scrolling lists of results and a "related searches" feature.
Finally there's a new editor's choice logo to highlight featured apps that Cook said will really pop.
"We are really investing a ton in the App Store," the CEO said, adding that these improvements will arrive in the fall.
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WWDC 2014: iOS 8 release date and device compatibility revealed
Apple's iOS 8 won't be here for a few months, but if you're excited about the possibility of HealthKit and other improvements over iOS 7, you will be able to access it on a number of devices.
Releasing in the fall, iOS 8 will work with most of Apple's newest phone and tablet releases.
They are: iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S, iPod Touch 5th generation, iPad 2, iPad with Retina display, iPad Air, iPad mini and the iPad mini 2 with Retina display.
Developers can grab iOS 8 as a beta starting today along with the beta of OS X Yosemite, the newest version of the OS for Macs.
Conspicuously absent from the list above is the iPhone 4, which will probably make like many obsolete phones and die a slow, quiet death that only a few old-tech holdouts will notice.
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WWDC 2014: iOS 8 bursts on the scene with Health, widgets, a better Siri and more
iOS 8 is here! Well, it's not - you won't get it on your phone or tablet until the fall but Apple has at least outlined what goodies you can expect when the time comes.
The free release has enhancements for both iPhone and iPad, and though the "Healthbook" name didn't come to fruition, Apple is going on a health kick with its updated mobile OS.
HealthKit is an API for developers that lets various health and fitness applications live in one place, the new Health app. All together, HealthKit-housed applications create a composite profile of your well being accessible within Health.
HealthKit and the Health app essentially act as a centralized storage locker for health info gathered from numerous applications, such as Nike. Third-party applications will have access to HealthKit data, but Apple assured users can choose what info is shared with what apps.
HealthKit's openness is indicative of another feature headed to iOS 8 ; third-party apps created for the system will be able to share data with one another via new Extensibillity tools. This marks a dramatic shift for Apple since it has up until now kept iOS applications shut off from one another.
Photo fantastic
With iOS 8, Apple is making it so photos are available across devices, ensuring you never loose edits or access to images when you switch from iPhone to iPad.There are also a number of new Photos editing features to be found. When lightening up an image, the new iOS 8 Photos app will automatically adjust other settings to create an all-around improved picture. Edits will stick from iPhone to iPad thanks to iOS 8's iCloud Photo Editing access.
While images can be shared across iPhone to iPad, Apple is also working on a solution for Yosemite on Macs that will be available later this year.
Thanks to Extensibility, photo-editing apps will be able to embed their filters and editing tools into Photos. Users can then apply the tools to their pictures and videos without having to import them from the third-party application.
Siri gets smarter
Siri as been given a brush up for iOS 8; with a "Hey Siri," holler, you can wake the ol' girl up and get her working.With the help of Shazam's recognition software, Siri can also now identify songs and be used to make iTunes purchases.
Up to 22 languages are now Siri-comprehendible, and thanks to streaming voice recognition, the sound waves that appear on the iPhone screen should match what you're saying in near-real-time.
Message, Spotlight and keyboard improvements
Messages is smartening up in iOS 8 as well. Now, users can set Do Not Disturb alerts in group messages, leave a thread whenever they like and drop other participants from a conversation.Users can share their location within a thread as well, and a map becomes visible if you want to see where your friends (really) are. Attachments are also easier to view at a glance.
iOS 8 comes equipped with a tap to talk feature, cutting out the steps needed to vocalize what you're virtually trying to say. Taking a cue from Snapchat, iOS 8 also introduces self-destructing in-line voice and video messages for those times you don't want to leave a trail.
Spotlight for iOS 8 offers suggestions when you type in a place, event or whatnot. Now, instead of a straight search result, you may be shown part of a Wikipedia page, directions and more, depending on what you're looking up.
A more predictive keyboard called QuickType comes loaded in iOS 8 with support for a string of native languages and the promise that it emulates your personal typing style - "prolly" instead of "probably," for example. Additionally, iOS 8 will work with custom keyboards imported from other applications, including popular Android solution Swiftkey.
Apple is adding a feature that's sure to lure back some burned by the iMessage fallout; SMS and voice calls will be accessible on users' Macs just as they are on an iPhone. You'll need Yosemite on your Mac to communicate this ultra-mobile way, but if you have the National Park-themed OS and iOS 8, you're golden.
Family sharing
No, it's not part of some US-carrier data plan. iOS 8 family sharing lets people on the same account share data between their devices. This goes for everything from photos to credit card info.More iOS 8 features
There is a refined notification center for iPhone, but even more impressive are interactive notifications. These let users stay within an app while replying to texts and other alerts just by swiping down.On an iPad, users can peak a bird's eye view of all their tabs as well as enjoy a side bar within Safari.
Managing Mail has also become easier; swiping slightly on a message will let users flag it with color-coded indicators while swiping all the way deletes the message. Conveniently, users can also now access other inbox messages while composing an email.
iOS 8 will be available as a beta for developers starting today, with a full consumer release slated for the fall.
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WWDC 2014: Meet HomeKit, Apple's vision for an iPhone-controlled smart home
First it was Carplay - now Apple is eyeing your home. At WWDC today, Apple announced a new software that'll let you control various home appliances all from your iPhone or iPad.
HomeKit is a new common network protocol that essentially lets users control their home appliances and the like from their iDevice.
Secure pairing insures that only your iPhone can control things like your garage door or kitchen light bulbs. HomeKit users can control individual appliances or functions in their home, or control a group of devices in various scenes.
For example, tell your iPhone (via Siri) that, "It's time for bed," all devices in the nighttime scene will prep for sleep; your garage door will like, lights in various parts of the house will turn off, etc.
Apple said it worked with a number of home appliance and services leaders to develop HomeKit.
More to follow...
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Live: WWDC 2014 Liveblog: All the latest from Apple's Keynote
Ahh, the smell of OS updates is in the air! Must be WWDC 2014 day, the day when Apple makes all our dreams come true by changing the font on the Calendar app slightly and trying to make us all sign up to bigger iCloud accounts.
That's right, it's keynote time: and what are we expecting to hear from Apple today? We'll be honest, it's a mixed bag.
- Tune in at 6pm BST / 10am PST / 1am AEST
11.56 - He's summing up about platforms and integration now. This doesn't sound like he's building to anything.
Here you go - info on the devices coming. So it's no luck if you're on an iPhone 4... but if you are, then just give in and buy a new phone. You'll feel a lot happier, promise.
11.55 - Tim Cook is back. Please don't launch anything. I'm very tired.
11.54 - The way Health is glossed over makes me think that there's no iWatch. But, here's a good piece of news: iOS 8 is coming soon and will run on loads of devices - but the slide with the ones on was really quickly shown. Definitely iPad mini on there, FYI. (The only one I saw at the bottom).
11.53 - If you're into this, all this is in a book in iBooks - and when iOS and OS X Yosemite go live, you can submit apps straight away.
11.52 - The demo is over. Phew. I was about to make a run for it.
11.51 - The blimp is rising and falling because of a copy and paste. I feel like that should mean something. I'm guessing that blimp-fans are going to love this feature.
11.49 - We're hearing about code now... I'm trying to pretend I understand it all. Uh huh, points, mmmm yes, NSImage. Yep, blimp.
Wait, that last one was a picture of a blimp. I got that.
11.45 - What does this mean for the end user? Apple has just made a lot of developers very happy with lots of new, modern features (and secure) and make it all a lot slicker and easy to do.
So new apps will be less bug-filled (in theory), less heavy and even making them will be a little more accessible to the average user.
Even older apps will benefit, so this is all good for you if you're thinking of waiting for an iPhone 6 or iPad Air 2.
11.44 - It's getting a lot more technical now. Take this away though: casual and high power gaming is going to get even better on the iPhone and iPad
Although I will say this: Apple has developed its own programming language called Swift, and it 'totally rules'.The room just went bonkers.
11.42 - Apparently Epic had to keep turning the number of objects up and up as they didn't think it was possible on a mobile. As soon as iOS 8 is available, Zen Garden will be in the App Store for free. That's going to fix a train journey when you're stressed.
11.40 - Epic showing off a 'Zen Garden' showcase. You can simulate 5000 petals on the screen at once and interact with all at once. You can have loads of fish with AI - and Metal frees up CPU space to be able to do this.
This looks like it could be a gamechanger. Thank you, thank you. I'm here all week. Try the veal.
11.39 - This looks impressive. Console level graphics on an iPad - Tim Sweeney from Epic Games is on stage to talk us through it.
11.37 - Metal is the way the new devices will be able to render 3D graphics more effectively than ever before. Currently there's a heavy layer between the game and the hardware, which means up to 10x faster elements to make everything more slick.
11.36 - Homekit announced!
The internet of things is brought to the iPhone. Only your iPhone can unlock your garage, your front door. Or group things together - tell Siri you're going to bed and your doors will lock, garages will shut and the thermostat will drop.
11.35 - The Camera API is being opened up too. This means you can more easily and seamlessly add things into your phone and have full access without messing up your photos.
11.34 - Third party apps can use TouchID too now. Finally again. iPhones are far more secure apparently now thanks to this new feature - and third party apps are totally segregated from the TouchID info.
11.33 - YOU CAN HAVE THIRD PARTY KEYBOARDS! THANK HEAVENS!
11.31 - If you've got Bing Translate you can show changes to the words in real time as you zoom in - and then you can Pin it to your Pinterest board right from in Safari.
11.29 - Extensions are the big thing being chatted about now. So third party stuff is so much more accessible in basic apps.
And widgets for the Notifications Center - if you download an app that can work in this area, the widget comes right in.
You can even bid on eBay stuff from the NC. Not bad when you want to win that guitar / dumbell / picture of Tim Cook.
11.25 - Lots of new stuff for developers with iOS 8 - making it a "giant release". There are lots of new features for the app store.
1. Adding explore tab - find the app you're looking for
2. Top trending searches - what's popular
3. Scrolling results - faster scrolling lists
4. Related searches - find exactly the app you're looking for
5. Editors Choice - find the best apps easily
6. App bundles - users can buy multiple apps at a discounted price with one tap
7. App previews - short videos of apps in details (like Google Play)
8. TestFlight - beta test service - invite users to beta test apps
11.20 - Just heard someone swear blind we're going to see a new 4.7-inch iPhone today. Can't see it happening, chum. But I'll high five you if you're right.
11.18 - There's a new photo app for the Mac as well, shipping next year, with iCloud baked right in. Look at photos on the Mac now, and then edit it in the Cloud, to make even old photos look better. More advanced on the Mac, too.
11.16 - Photos can be edited more comprehensively - the image algorithm is really intelligent when it comes to altering exposure, brightness etc. And when you make the edits the pics show up on all other devices in the stream.
11.14 - Photos and iCloud are being mixed to allow all snaps to being seen on all devices. Obvious.
11.13 - All purchases from the family are mixed into one account. That's gonna be mega handy - as long as you share the same credit card across up to 6 people. And if kids try to buy something, you get messaged on your device asking for permission.
11.12 - That was quick on Health. Thought it would be more. Next up is Family Sharing. Once you've set up a family, you can get a shared photostream, shared reminder list, plus you can find your friends.
11.10 - The new Healthkit works with medical professionals - Mayo Clinic reckons it will 'revolutionise' the medical industry thanks to doctors being able to see when patients are in trouble.
PLEASE SOMEONE MAKE A DRE JOKE SOON.
11.09 - Next up is Health. A guy next to me actually just sat up higher and shook himself a bit. Apple wants to stop all the health apps being silo'd. HealthKit does just that - and comes with a corresponding app: Health.
These allow you to monitor the information you're interested in - Nike Logo on stage now. Nike going to integrate HealthKit into Nike Plus.
11.07 - You can configure your iPad or iPhone before you even open the box, so IT workers won't need to flash software onto each device before it even gets sent out.
11.06 - Now we're talking Enterprise - 98% of the Fortune 500 uses iOS for Enterprise. That's an impressive stat.
11.05 - Next up: iCloud Drive. You can open documents from other apps, and those edits are saved right to original version. Plus access to docs on Mac and Windows.
11.04 - Craig is sending over some comedy video and audio - it's in danger of actually being funny. You can hear audio from Messages by just raising it to your ear... I bet that comes to calling as well in some way.
11.03 - This is Apple taking the fight to WhatsApp - and it looks like it's doing pretty well with it. If the next thing being said is 'This is available on Android' then the rest might as well go home.
11.00 - More control over whether you want to be in group iMessages, share location, see it on a map right inside Messages.
Apparently the most-used apps on an iPhone, this. Now Messages will let you choose Do Not Disturb on each thread and even the attachments in one portal for when you want to see what's been shared.
10.59 - Loads more languages added in, privacy is higher. Just hope the keys can recognise my fingers a little better too.
Continuity being chatted about now - but given we've already seen it on the Mac, this is just being glossed over.
10.58 - In iOS 8, Quicktype supports next word predictions like all the other phones on the market - anything being added in from Swiftkey here? Apple wouldn't be the first to license the tech.
10.56 - Mail is more intuitive than ever before, as is Spotlight, which lets you search for news, songs, restaurants, and movies. It's all drawing from the web as well, meaning it's not just checking through the phone any more.
Keyboard is updated! Quicktype!
10.52 - Messaging now lets you swipe a message down while you're writing to get back to your inbox - which makes it easier to look through your missives without having exit the app.
The ease with which you can write a message in the Notification Center looks great - plus you can Like Facebook posts too.
10.51 - Double tapping will give you access to not only the 'open' apps, but also recent people as well. Single gesture to mark as unread for your messages too.
10.50 - This is a 'giant release' apparently. Craig is coming back to talk about the end user features.
Builds on the design on iOS 7 - so more of the same, no revolution. But interactive notifications! You can now reply from the bar itself - finally. Calendar too - and even on the lockscreen.
10.49 - 'Today we're announcing iOS 8'.
10.47 - Apple showing that over 90% are on the latest release, which is compared of 9% of KitKat. Loads are using a version from four years ago.
Yes Tim, Android is fragmented. iOS is vertically integrated. We get it.
10.46 - Nearly half customers in China in last six months switched from Android to iPhone - although that's not surprising given how it's only been recently added officially into the region.
10.45 - Tim is back to talk about iOS 8. We've had over 100 million iPod touch units sold, 200 million iPads and half a billion iPhones. 130 million new customers who bought an iOS device in the last 12 months bought their first Apple device.
10.44 - OS X Developer preview is available now, and the full (FREE) version is here in the fall. And there will be a summer beta for the public too!
10.42 - He just picked up the phone - nervy moments. 'How you doin'? This is Dre!'
Craig just called him Doctor. One drink if you're playing the game. Dre is having some developer love right now. He sounds super excited to start working for Apple... But there was no rapping.
10.41 - Craig just rejected a call from his Mom. Cold.
HE'S CALLING DRE!
10.38 - The Mac can now accept calls, show messages and even use the Mac as a speakerphone. This works when the phone is in another part of the house too. Can dial the phone too!
The Mac is basically now very, very aware of what you're doing on the phone and uses its capabilities too. Eddy Cue just got karaoke shamed on a massive pic.
10.35 - Continuity is the next big buzzword. Want to use your Mac, iPhone or iPad? The transitions need to be as seamless as possible, apparently. Now Airdrop works across iOS and Mac! If you didn't know that wasn't in there, well, now you do.
Next up is Handoff - so your devices are aware of each other. So you can just swipe up from Mac or iPad and see the info from one device to another. Shown off with email, and the room went BANANAS.
10.32 - Showing how you can email an image from the web to a buddy and showing how great Markup works. Can use a magnifying glass to zoom in, and then use a track pad tp draw on the image with a fancy image - markup can work out when you're drawing an arrow and 'Apple-ises' it.
Does the same thing with a speech bubble. Apple knows how bad we are at sketching digitally.
10.31 - More on the new Safari design. The Safari search bar is trying to nab some juice from Google by working out suggestions on things you might be searching for - taking another page view from the search giant.
10.30 - Safari is more efficient now too, meaning longer battery life when doing things like streaming and is super fast too, apparently.
10.27 - The Favorites Bar is going (by default). It now lives in the URL as a tap, and you can subscribe to RSS links and recent messages from friends to make it easier to share links.
10.26 - Messages is here next - Maildrop is coming in. Instead of message bouncing back, your email can work it out and then encrypt any attachments and send them to the Mac separately - up to 5GB in size.
Markup lets you write all over your emails, and on PDFs too. You can sign documents on your trackpad or the iSight camera. Fiddly.
10.24 - ...iCloud Drive!
All docs are accessible inside a folder, meaning you can get content from iOS docs. All files from any sort, tags too, and they're synced automatically from any Macs.
It even works on Windows too.
10.21 - More on Spotlight - can look up people, launch apps, see contact info, messages from one another. Events and reminders are filtered in too - Craig has got some great banter about Sir Jony Ive's spoons.
Maps is included too - Yelp is included, can even type in a movie to see where it's playing, as well as content to stream from the iTunes store.
10.19 - Calendar has a new day view, info on the events as they come along. Messages getting new lok too - translucent sidebar and scrolling through the messages.
Notification Center has a today view and more widgets too to give you the info you need, when you want it. As long as there's a widget.
10.18 - 'A more gorgeous and useable version of OS X'. A more refined version of the notification centre. Yosemite has a new Spotlight interface, giving a big field in the middle of the display or an inline preview of documents.
The new search feature can even harness the power of the internet. This is the future, people. We're seeing how it looks now.
10.16 - Talking about how 'refined' this iteration is. 'You wouldn't believe how much time we spend on designing the trash can'.
Dark mode is also added in, making it a more pleasing system to use.
10.12 - Craig Federighi is showing off the new OS on a video right now. Refined fonts, some new icons that have got people chirpy in the crowd... it's all there.
10.12 - Jokes aplenty on the new name for OS X - Oxnard, Weed - the latter had 'strong support in the marketing team'. OS X Yosemite, take a bow.
10.10 - Ragging on Windows 8 now - a year longer in the market, and only 14% of the market compared to 50% of Macs on the latest software. Helps that Mavericks is free.
10.09 - Talking Macs: 5% industry decline has been ignored as Macs have grown 12%. 40 million copies of Mavericks installed already, which is the 'fastest adoption ever of such software'.
10.08 - Here to talk about OS X and iOS, according to Cook. 'Engineered to work together seamlessly'.
Then he says that there's a HUGE RELEASE... for developers... coming. He's so teasing.
10.07 - Apparently the youngest developer here is only 13 years old. Isn't it a school day?
10.06 - 1300 developers gathered together in 1990 - and now it's a huge conference for developers and Apple. 70% are first time attendees. And even those on scholarships too.
10.05 - Tim Cook is in the house! Looking relaxed. Lots of people clapping him probably helps. 'We're here to celebrate all the amazing apps the developers are creating'. That's good.
10.04 - 'My iPhone is as important as my guitar'. More important is the kid with the robotic arm who can do this thanks to an iPhone. Fair play.
10.02 - We've had two Tinder-based jokes already. They love that here. Chuckles aplenty.
10.00 - Game time! We're hearing about how people imaging a developer would look. What about journalists, Apple? We're here too! Also hearing about which app people couldn't live without. Instagram, Pinterest, Evernote. All the faves.
09.58 - So, what are we thinking is going to be the big thing today people? I'm thinking odds of: evens on iOS 8, 2/1 on OS X Yosemite and 8/1 on an iWatch.
And 100/1 that Dre is named the new Apple CEO.
09.55 - #liveblogupdate Nothing is really happening. I'm trying to generate a Mexican wave, but people keep glaring at me for knocking over their laptops.
09.54 - Tried to start a debate about 'Which fish would you be?' with some people around me - they didn't seem to want to play. Probably because I did't specify fresh or sea water.
09.53 - 'The presentation will begin shortly'. 'Please switch devices to silent.' 'Please don't forget about Dre'.
Two of these phrases were just uttered over the speakers.
09.52 - Few people at the front just standing in front the stage chatting. Soaking in the atmosphere. Sensing the electricity in the air. Drinking it all down.
Or they've forgotten where they're sitting.
09.51 - Nobody around here is looking at the stage. They're all to busy liveblogging. Like me. This has gone a bit Inception.
09.49 - Bastille being played a very high volume right next to my head. Wonder if there's any way I can convince them to switch it to Basshunter.
09.45 - Things are heating up. Someone next to me just tried to get up and found themselves unable to navigate out due to too many people. Really hoping that wasn't an aborted toilet break... this thing is two hours long.
09.30 - I'm are sitting comfortably waiting for the event to begin. T-minus 30 minutes people. Are you excited? You better be. COME ON. BE EXCITED. No? Oh, okay.
09.10 - A spontaneous game of "hide and seek" breaks out - unfortunately one person hasn't quite grasped the concept of "hide."
08.59 - Wonder what this is referring too? Eight new devices to be shown off? The number of times Tim Cook will address Dre as "The Doctor" during his keynote? Or maybe, just maybe, it might have something to do with iOS 8 - probably not though.
08.51 (San Fran time) - In the glorious "holding area" of the Moscone West centre in San Francisco waiting with the pack of assorted press from around the world for the main doors to open at 09.00.
That's a full hour before WWDC 2014 kicks off, so plenty of time to elbow my way to the front and attempt to storm the stage.
Spoiler alert
After the retail updates that nobody cares about and the reminder that Quite A Lot Of People now use iPhones, Tim Cook and co will probably announce some upgraded Macs and MacBooks and a new version of OS X Mavericks named after another California surf spot.Then, after exhaustively running through the minutiae of that, we'll hear about iOS 8 and its Healthbook app. There'll be some vague hints about what the iPhone 6 will be capable of, but it's very unlikely that Apple will actually announce a new iPhone today.
Then come the wildcards: could Tim Cook finally let us in on the cosmic joke that is the iWatch? Will he announce an Internet Of Things friendly standard for the iHome so you can control your future fridges with your iPhone?
Will Dre come out and drop Still D.R.E. with Eddy Cue filling in for Snoop?
There is no way to know until the whole shebang kicks off. So join us here for our liveblog at 6pm BST / 10am Pacific / 1am June 3 Australian Eastern time - or join in the fun over on Twitter.
- In the meantime: here's a more exhaustive list of what to expect from WWDC 2014
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WWDC2014: Apple unveils Enterprise upgrades for iOS 8
Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering at Apple, unveiled iOS 8 with new features designed specifically for enterprise developers. Upgrades include automatic device enrollment and enhanced data protection.
iOS 8's Device Enrollment program automatically configures devices for the enterprise. Devices purchased by enterprises will arrive to the user fully loaded with relevant mail, apps and calendar installations.
To provide more enhanced security for mobile enterprises, iOS 8 features expanded data protection that will cover third party apps. Enterprise support has also been updated to include per message S/MIME, managed books and PDFs.
iOS 8
for the enterprise will include VIP threads that allow users to generate
notifications on a per-email-thread basis. Users can also enable
automatic replies for out-of-office messages.
Ninety-eight percent of the Fortune 500 uses iOS, Federighi said. 
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WWDC 2014: You can now receive SMS texts and calls on your Mac
Apple began its 2014 Worldwide Developers Conference with the announcement of Mac OS X Yosemite and continued on to talk about ... continuity.
"It starts with AirDrop - it now works between iOS and the Mac," Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering at Apple explained.
AirDrop makes transitions between iOS and Mac seamless while Handoff helps your devices see each other using proximity awareness; you can to swipe up from a Mac or iPad and see the info from one device and "hand it off" to another.
The new lock screen icon on the lower left allows you to swipe up and keep working on your iPad in real-time to do things like compose emails on a Mac and finish it off on an iPad, or complete the last bits of a Keynote presentation on an iPhone and hand it over to the Mac for a presentation.
Another new feature is Instant Hotspot, for automatic configuration by close proximity, or recognized devices.
Using your Mac as a phone?
The Mac can now accept calls, show messages and even use the Mac as a speakerphone. This works when the phone is in another part of the house too - and you can even dial phones too.The Mac is basically now very, very aware of what you're doing on the phone and uses its capabilities too.
To demonstrate, Federighi called Dr. Dre, of the recently acquired Beats company to welcome him during the conference.
iMessages gets upgraded too
Federighi also noted that "the next thing we wanted to handle was SMS."More specifically, your SMS and other non-iMessage messages can now sync across all of your Apple devices and you will now be able to make and receives calls from your Mac running the new OS X Yosemite operating system.
"We love iMessage, but we have these green bubble friends. You know they have inferior devices."
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WWDC 2014: Apple challenges Dropbox and Google Drive with new Mail and iCloud features
Apple kicked off its 2014 Worldwide Developers Conference with a confusing video in which app developers wondered what they looked like, followed by the announcement of Mac OS X Yosemite.
Apple Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi then took the stage from Apple CEO Tim Cook to describe some of the new additions in the OS X update, including important new Mail and iCloud features.
These features are known as iCloud Drive and Mail Drop, and they're Apple's answers to services like Dropbox and Google Drive.
iCloud breaks down barriers
"We all know that documents in the cloud provide a really convenient way for working with an app that works across all platforms," Federighi said.But iCloud has some limitations in that area, right? Not anymore, it seems.
With iCloud Drive users can work right in Finder with files and documents from OS X, iOS apps and even Windows.
Users can organize files in iCloud Drive using folders and tags that will be synchronized across all their devices.
Drop it like it's Mail
Federighi said Apple "focused on the basics" for the Yosemite Mail app, including "reliable syncing, fast switching between mailboxes, [and] quick fetches of your new mail."But they also "wanted to address a fundamental problem with email;" that is, limits on attachment size.
So Mail Drop lets users choose to send large attachments through iCloud instead of through their recipients' email servers.
The feature apparently strips the attachment from the message and sends it through iCloud, while the message goes through the email servers as usual, and they're joined up again as they hit the recipient's inbox.
These features will arrive in the fall with OS X 10.10 Yosemite.
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WWDC 2014: Apple betters Safari with a pack of improvements
Apple shown a spotlight on Safari during WWDC 2014, outing a new look and new features for the internet client, one that's faster and more elegant than previous iterations.
The changes come packaged within OS X Yosemite, the newest iteration of Apple's Mac OS.
Key among Safari's changes is an improved search feature. Click search, and you'll be given a list of your favorite past sites visited.
There's also an improved share button that pulls up a new recent recipients list. Find an image you want to share with a friend, and find that person's email in the list below.
More to follow...
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WWDC2014: Apple OS X 10.10 Yosemite unveiled on first day of WWDC 2014
Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering at Apple, unveiled the new version of Mac OS X v10.10 at WWDC 2014. The new operating system has been named "Yosemite" and is available for developers and will be available generally for free this fall.
The Yosemite operating system upgrade will enable users to deliver files on AirDrop from Apple mobile devices to Mac desktop and laptops and vice versa. A new feature called Handoff will allow users to send files between devices via a swipe. For example: as users working on an Apple device approach a second Apple device, they will be asked if they would like to transition files to the second device.
Yosemite's display will feature "translucency" that enables live windows to take on the personality of the user's desktop, including adaption to the user's desktop color scheme. The translucent display will also appear on the application dock, including an updated translucent trashcan.
Today view
The Notification Center will now feature a "Today View" that provides an at-a-glance look at apps like iCalendar, Weather, and apps downloaded from the App Store along the right rail of a user's desktop.Yosemite will also feature a new "Dark Mode," which is designed to provide a more organic visual transition between apps and windows. Dark Mode allows users to turn Apple's bright gray menu bars to a darker gray. The feature extends through to apps like iCalendar and Apple Maps.
Yosemite's desktop will now feature "Spotlight" functionality that enables users to active a large search bar display in the middle of the computer's screen. The functionality is similar to swipe-down search on iOS. Spotlight will include an internet search feed that can retrieve search results from the Web.
MailDrop and MarkUp
Apple's Mail tool has been updated with a feature called "MailDrop" that enables users to independently host up to 5 gigabytes of data that can be remotely accessed by all mail users.Yosemite's "MarkUp" update gives users the ability to draw notes and make edits to all attachments included in emails.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said 40 million Mavericks operating systems have been installed on roughly 80 million Macs. He also said Windows 8 adoption is only at 14% on PCs.
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Dell gives its Venue 7, Venue 8 Android tablets a beefy boost
Dell has announced a slew of devices during Computex 2014, namely updates to its line of commute-friendly Android tablets, the Venue 7 and Venue 8. While much hasn't changed about these budget tablets' design, their insides gained some big boosts for 2014.
The Venue 7 now comes packing a 7-inch, 1280 x 800 WXGA, IPS touchscreen and a dual-core Intel Atom Z3460 processor that can reach 1.6GHz. In the graphics department, the Venue 7 sports an Imagination PowerVR G64000 chip.
Backing that up are 1GB of DDR3 RAM and a 16GB eMMC flash storage drive, along with 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. You can also go for LTE connectivity if you so choose.
Finally, in addition to a 1MP shooter up front and a 5MP lens around back, the Venue 7 houses one micro USB port, a microSD card reader, a headphone/mic jack and, naturally, a micro SIM slot for optional LTE.
All of this comes in that 0.35-inch, 0.64-pound soft-touch black plastic frame that you can have starting July 1 on Dell.com. The starting price is a cool $159.99 (about TKTK).
Turning it up to 8
The Venue 8, on the other hand, looks no different other than its larger size and weight (0.74 pounds) – yet it manages to maintain the same 0.35-inch thinness. Of course, it's the guts that get a boost for that Nexus 7-beating $199.99 (around TKTK) asking price.That gets you an 8-inch, 1920 x 1200 WXGA, IPS touchscreen with a slightly beefier dual-core Intel Atom Z3480 at up to 2.1GHz with the same GPU inside. Oddly enough, however, both the RAM and storage solutions remain the same for that extra 40 bucks. Though, the Venue 8 does have a slightly superior 2MP front-facing camera.
Of course, you still get all of those new, shiny wireless (and hardware) connectivity options, and both of these tablets come running a 4550mAh battery. For both tablets, these components power the latest Android 4.4 KitKat operating system.
And to try to keep you in the Dell family given the breadth of Android options out there, the company offers its PocketCloud software and a free 20GB worth of space on Dropbox for a year. You'll also get to pick up a Dell Venue 8 in red when it hits Dell.com on July 1.
Still not big enough? Try 20 inches
Next up is an all-new, all-in-one PC that aims to wow the crowd on a budget. With a 19.5-inch, 1600 x 900 WLED display and a wide speaker bar under its bezel, the Dell Inspiron 20 3000 is aimed squarely at PC buyers looking to maximize their buck.This Inspiron AiO starts with a dual-core, Intel Celeron N2830 chip at 2.16GHz and 2GB of DDR3 RAM. (Both are upgradeable to quad-core and double the memory, respectively.) For storing files, a 5400 rpm, 500GB hard drive is also included.
This hardware powers a Windows 8.1 install and a 720P HD webcam with digital microphone. And in addition to 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0, there are 3 USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI-in port, 4-in-1 card reader and headphone/mic jack.
This budget hardware comes for a budget price for entry, starting a seriously affordable price of $349.99 (about TKTK). The Dell Inspiron 20 3000 will also hit stores on July 1, just in time for school – what a coinkydink.
- Dell also showed off its Inspiron 11 3000 hybrid – check out our hands on impressions
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Alleged OS X 10.10 screenshots reveal flatter, iOS 7-like design
A bunch of leaked screenshots apparently showing a redesigned OS X 10.10 interface have surfaced online ahead of Apple's WWDC 2014 opening keynote.
Showcasing a flatter, minimalist design that falls inline with iOS 7, they show a redesigned, iOS-like Notification Center, a new dock with an opaque rectangular background, a subtly different Safari with flatter toolbar buttons and a similarly redesigned Spotlight search, which now features a Quick Look function that brings up recent searches.
The screenshots were posted onto Reddit's Mac section by an account that's since been deactivated, so we're going to take the images with a pinch of fruit-tinged salt. First spotted by MacRumours (which has since deleted the images), they've been preserved by The Verge.
Leaky source
The leaker claimed that the images were taken directly from Apple's HQ in Cupertino, and we should find out if they're the real deal when WWDC kicks off this evening.To follow all of the action as it happens, point your mouse at our liveblog here.
VIA MacRumours
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Industry voice: Is tape the best way of storing data?
Energy consumption is taking up an increasing proportion of the overall datacentre running costs. Not surprising, considering that the amount of business-critical data is ever on the rise and new technologies have to be put into place to cope with this growth.
Effective management of energy consumption costs across company departments is business critical.
In the past, datacentre power usage would often be cloaked as a central services cost but, owing to the popularity of the 'greening your business' trend which was followed by several years of austerity, datacentre costs are now frequently absorbed by the IT department rather than being allocated to individual company departments.
E-commerce giant eBay is one example of a company whose IT unit is responsible for the group's datacentre power consumption.
A significant contributing factor in the cost of running datacentees is storage, usually on disks. Even archived files incur a cost if they are kept on spinning disks, as it all adds up.
Trying tape
However in the race to keep IT expenditure to a minimum and performance at optimum levels, there is another way. Unlike other storage media, tape does not draw power once the data has been written to it because it doesn't spin like disks do.Allocating a large portion of the budget for data archiving alone is a potentially huge and unnecessary waste: it is estimated that, if datacenters were a stand-alone industry, they would be the sixth largest when measured by power consumption.
However over the years technological advancements have helped to reduce power usage: firstly, tape life and storage efficiency have increased tremendously over the past few decades, while much less time and expenditure are now required to write and store data to hard disks drives (HDDs).
This all translates into lower energy consumption. Tape is also a near-line storage mechanism when used in conjunction with an automated tape library. Tape media is able to store data while sitting on a shelf inside the library without consuming any power, until it's placed in a tape drive.
Because of this, tape libraries can densely pack high capacity tape cartridges within their confines to deliver many more PBs per floor tile than disk arrays.
LTFS
Secondly, tape in the form of LTO5 and LTO6 has a capability called the Linear Tape File System (LTFS), an open tape file system standard that allows for long-term interchange between applications, tape hardware and manufacturers and, over time, it only gets better for tape.Future generations (in this case LTO) will at least double in capacity and maintain the same storage footprint. As a result it is clear for all to see that tape offers a much lower cost and energy consumption alternative to disk when it comes to archiving.
So how do the figures compare?
According to a 2010 Clipper Group report, 'In Search of the Long-Term Archiving Solution — Tape Delivers Significant TCO Advantage over Disk,' TCO for disks is more than 15 times that of tape and HDDs use an astonishing 238 times more energy for an archiving application of large binary files than tapes, with a 45 percent annual growth rate, over a 12-year period.
The same study revealed that the energy consumption costs alone for a disk archiving or long-term data preservation solution nearly equalled the TCO of a tape counterpart.
Thinking green
The emergence of data-intensive markets and big data analytics has also led to a sharp increase in the demand for tape, and analyst houses such as IDC predict the industry to grow significantly over the coming years.In a 2012 report entitled 'Worldwide Midrange and Enterprise Tape Automation' for example, IDC estimated the value of the 2011 tape market at $2.2 billion. Moreover, numerous reports, such as INSIC's 'International Magnetic Tape Storage Roadmap,' have demonstrated that tape is the most durable, reliable and resource-efficient means of storing large sets of data.
Businesses considering how to reduce their IT energy expenditure while grappling with the challenges that come with archiving increasing volumes of data should think green. As with any smart business, reducing outgoing costs is key to competitiveness.
With energy prices set to rise over the coming years, the budget spent on energy consumption will be even greater. In order to future proof against these challenges, IT managers need to consider their deep storage strategy more carefully before making the call.
- Matthew T. Starr is Chief Technology Officer at Spectra Logic.
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SAP to create a division for industry-specific cloud services
SAP has created a division focused on industry-specific cloud tools, the company said in a statement. The division will be lead by Simon Paris, President of Global Strategic Industries, at SAP.
The goal of the division will be to develop prescriptive, industry-based cloud road maps, SAP said. SAP intends to deliver industry-specific solutions across 25 industries. SAP said it has already created industry-specific cloud solutions across the follow verticals: chemicals, financial services, healthcare, higher education, industrial machinery, professional services, public services, retail, sports, and travel.
It is unclear when the additional 15 solutions will be created. No additional information is available about SAP’s plans for the division. SAP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Industry-specificity
Last week, IBM announced the creation of 12 industry-specific subscription-based cloud solutions. The releases include specific healthcare, mobility, asset management, customer data and predictive asset management tools. IBM said it would release a total of 20 industry-specific cloud solutions.In May, SAP launched a set of solutions designed to enable organizations to more quickly adopt cloud computing. The company also announced plans to restructure the organization by shifting approximately 2,500 roles from software programming to cloud computing.
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ASUS Transformer Book Flip laptop has Yoga-like characteristics
The third major computing product unveiled by Asus at Computex today (after the Transformer Book V and the Transformer T300 Chi) is the Transformer Book Flip which looks a lot like the Lenovo Yoga laptop tablet.
Its main feature is the fact that it has a screen that can rotate 360 degrees, converting it into a tablet; two display sizes will be available (13.3-inch and 15-inch), both with a full HD resolution.
Other than running Windows 8.1, they also share similar wireless capabilities (802.11n and Bluetooth 4.0).
Affordable flexibility
The smaller model – the TP300 - comes with either a Core i3 or a Core i5 processor and between up to 6GB of RAM. The bigger model – the TP500 - has an optical drive and can run an i7 processor with up to 8GB of RAM.Four versions of the Transformer Book Flip will be available in the UK from the end of June with prices ranging from £449 to £699.
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Computex 2014: ARM to open CPU design center in Taiwan, focus on IoT and wearables
Cambridge-based chip designer ARM has announced plans to open its first CPU design center in Asia by the end of 2014.
Announced at Computex 2014, ARM said that the center will be built in Hsinchu, Taiwan and will be used to design its Cortex-M processors designed for Internet of Things (IoT), wearables and embedded applications.
It will initially house between 40-50 staff and will scale up as demand for wearables and IoT devices increases, VR-Zone reports.
In a statement, ARM CEO Simon Segars said that the centre's location was ideal due to it positioning the company close to "key semiconconductor and ecosystem partners and high-caliber local engineering talent." The company also plans to scout local universities for talent to fill it.
Speaking to TechRadar Pro in May, Noel Hurley, Deputy general Manager of ARM's CPU Group, said that China-based tech companies are ramping up innovation in order to compete and serve the needs of the region's vast consumer base.
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Is Sony's surreal teaser hinting at the Xperia Z2 Ultra?
Sony's teasing something, and we've been reading between the blurry lines and concluded that this "something" is probably the Xperia Z2 Ultra.
Let us show our working. First, the tweet was sent out from Sony's Xperia account and shows the side of a device that looks very Xperia-ish.
Second, the use of the term "big thing" serves as a possible nod to a super-sized device, as does the way the gadget has been placed to look as its its towering over our mysterious lady in red.
Third, let's face it: what else is it going to be? We're told we'll hear more "this season", so hopefully it's not too long before everything comes into focus.
- Sony Xperia Z2: the jack of all trades smartphone
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